Most garlic bread recipes start with a loaf of French bread. This one starts with the leftover hot dog buns sitting in your kitchen right now. In just 15 minutes, you can turn them into crispy, buttery, cheesy garlic breadsticks with golden edges, melty mozzarella, and plenty of garlicky flavor without an extra grocery run.
Even better, each piece is already portioned, so there’s no messy slicing and no giant loaf going stale on the counter. Whether you need a fast side for pasta, soup, or baked chicken, this easy garlic cheesy bread is one of those back-pocket recipes that saves leftovers and somehow disappears faster than the “real” version.
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Why This Recipe for Cheesy Garlic Bread?
Garlic bread is a classic dish that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The combination of garlic and cheese makes this dish irresistible. This recipe is easy to follow and only takes a few minutes to prepare. This delicious cheesy goodness is sure to be a hit with you and your family.
More reasons to love this recipe:
- The recipe can be scaled up or down, however you like. I’ve halved the recipe and used only two hot dog buns before. It can also be doubled to use a full pack of 8 hot dog buns. This is especially useful if you don’t always know how many people in your household will be home for supper.
- You can customize the topping with more or less garlic, or maybe a little extra cheese. (I try not to overdo it with the butter, but that’s about it.)
- It’s a great way to use up leftover hot dog buns. You could even throw in a couple of leftover hamburger buns if you have them.
Equipment Needed for Garlic Cheesy Bread
You don’t need much to make this garlic cheesy bread! All the equipment you need is:
- Baking Sheet
- Garlic Press
- Cheese Grater
- Medium-Sized Mixing Bowl
- Mixing Spoon
…And that’s it. You probably have most of these in your kitchen, especially if you enjoy cooking with garlic.
Ingredients for Garlic Cheesy Bread
The ingredients are equally easy to find, especially if you just had a hot dog night not that long ago!
- Hot Dog Rolls
- Butter
- Fresh Garlic Cloves
- Parsley (fresh if you can get it)
- Parmesan Cheese
- Mozzarella Cheese
About These Ingredients for Garlic Cheesy Bread
Of course, I like to take a closer look at these ingredients, because I can be kind of a nerd about it sometimes.
Hot Dog Rolls
4 hot dog rolls
If it sounds like I came up with this version of garlic cheesy bread because I had some leftover hot dog rolls, you’d be totally correct! They make a convenient base for the cheesy garlic bread.
Butter
5 tablespoons butter, softened
Garlic bread always seems like it’s missing something if it doesn’t have that buttery flavor. Plus, the liquid from straight-up, nothing-fancy butter can help revive the hot dog rolls a little bit if they’ve gone a bit stale. I’ll usually go with unsalted butter.
Fresh Garlic Cloves
1 tablespoon minced garlic cloves
When it comes to the flavor, the garlic cloves are pretty much the point. I like to use fresh garlic cloves because I think they give this garlic cheesy bread a better flavor than garlic powder.
Parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons parsley
The parsley adds a bit of color and a slightly peppery flavor to the cheesy garlic bread. I usually plan to use dried parsley for this recipe. If you can get your hands on fresh parsley, that’s good too! You may just need to use 3 times as much to get the same flavor.
Did you know that there are two commonly used variations of parsley? Flat-leaf parsley has a slightly stronger flavor and is more commonly used for cooking, salads, and sauces. Curly parsley has a milder, sweeter flavor, making it preferable for garnishes. If you can choose between these two types of fresh parsley for your garlic cheesy bread, go with the flat-leaf parsley.
Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
For cheeses like Parmesan, I typically buy a block and shred or grate it myself. It has a tangy, nutty flavor that is almost instantly recognizable. If I want to add more Parmesan flavor, I’ll go for aged Parmesan cheese because it gets more intense when aged.
If you want “authentic Parmesan,” here’s what to look for! “Authentic Parmesan” is called Parmigiano Reggiano. The Italian provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Mantua are authorized by international law to produce “authentic” Parmigiano Reggiano. Nearly all other “Parmesan” or “Parmigiano” cheeses are imitations. This is one major reason that “Parmesan” and Parmigiano Reggiano are so closely associated with Italian food.
According to the Parmigiano Reggiano website, a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano is imprinted with a Casein Plate that includes a unique alphanumeric identifier that cheese experts can use to identify the day the cheese was made and which dairy made it.
The wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano also marks of origin stenciled into the band around the cheese rind. The marks of origin include the dotted wording Parmigiano Reggiano, PDO and Consortium inscriptions, the dairy identification number and the month and year of production in three places, and a mark that identifies the production plant.
First-grade Parmigiano Reggiano may also include additional marks, such as PREMIUM (aged 18 months) or EXPORT (aged 24 months). (Here’s a handy chart on Parmigiano Reggiano grades.)
| Official category | What it means | How it’s identified / sold |
|---|---|---|
| First-grade (scelto sperlato) | Wheel is free from detectable external and internal defects at inspection. | Standard top category after inspection. Eligible for additional marks like Export and, later, Premium if other requirements are met. |
| “Zero (0) and One (1)” | Minor imperfections that still sit very close to first-grade quality. “Zero” covers small rind/surface issues; “One” covers slight texture anomalies such as limited holes or localized sponginess without off-odors. | Internal quality classification used at inspection. |
| Medium-grade (Mezzano) | Minor or moderate structural defects, but still without alteration of the cheese’s typical organoleptic characteristics. | Recognizable by parallel lines engraved on the rind. |
| Downgraded | Defects are serious enough that the wheel is not eligible to bear the Parmigiano Reggiano designation. | PDO marks are removed; it becomes anonymous cheese, often used in grated cheese mixtures or melting applications. |
| Reject | Serious defects place the wheel outside the acceptable classified categories. | Not marketable as Parmigiano Reggiano. |
Of course, Parmigiano Reggiano can also be sold grated or in pieces. Look for a certification logo and a mark indicating the minimum maturation.
Mozzarella Cheese
2 tablespoons Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Like the Parmesan cheese, I prefer to get a block of mozzarella and shred it myself. It typically has a minimum moisture content of 45%, which makes it a good melting cheese. The more moisture it has, the fresher it probably is. The freshest mozzarella has a moisture content of over 60% and is commonly used in dishes that can handle high-moisture cheese, like Caprese salad and Neopolitan pizza.
For dishes like this garlic cheesy bread, I like to use low-moisture mozzarella with a moisture content of 45-52%. That helps keep the bread from getting too soggy.
Printable Garlic Cheesy Bread Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 Hot Dog Rolls
- 5 Tbsp. Butter softened
- 1 Tbsp. Garlic minced
- 1 1/2 tsp. Parsley
- 1/4 cup Parmesan shredded
- 2 Tbsp. Mozzarella shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Split hot dog rolls in half and place them flat side up on a baking sheet. There should be 8 individual pieces of bread.
- In a medium-size bowl, mix melted butter, garlic, fresh parsley, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese until well combined. Spread evenly over the 8 hot dog roll halves.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the rolls are golden brown and the cheese is melted.
Nutrition
How to Make Garlic Cheesy Bread
This recipe makes 8 individual “breadsticks”. I translated that into 8 servings for convenience, though of course, it can be hard to eat just one! (Let’s be real, if you have more than three people in your household or somebody in your family has a big appetite, these are likely to disappear pretty darn fast.)
Step One: Preheat Oven
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius).
Step Two: Prepare Hot Dog Rolls
Split hot dog rolls in half and place on a baking sheet. There should be 8 individual pieces of bread.
Step Three: Mix Cheesy Garlic Bread Topping
In a small bowl, mix your softened butter, minced garlic, parsley, parmesan, and mozzarella. Stir the garlicky cheese mixture until it’s evenly mixed. Don’t forget to get down to the bottom of the bowl to make sure gobs of unmixed cheese or butter don’t settle there.
Step Four: Spread Mixture Over Hot Dog Rolls
Spread the butter-cheese mixture evenly among your hot dog rolls. I don’t like to get huge gobs of butter on any single place on the rolls because it means a roll might turn out too soggy in one place and not cheesy and garlicky enough in another.
Step Five: Bake Cheesy Garlic Bread
Place the baking sheet with cheesy garlic bread in the oven. Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes. They should turn golden brown around the edges, and the cheese and butter should be fully melted. If you like them a little crispier, you might get away with baking them for a minute or two more. Just watch them carefully to make sure they don’t burn.
Step Six: Remove from Oven
Remove the cheesy garlic bread from the oven. Use a metal spatula to transfer to a plate. (Let them cool for a minute or two before trying to pick them up with your fingers. As much as I like this garlic bread, I don’t like singing my fingers!)
Step Seven: Serve WIth Favorite Dipping Sauces
Serve with favorite dipping sauces, such as marinara or cheesy sauce. I like to have these with my favorite Italian dishes like spaghetti with meatballs. It also goes well with many types of soup.
Nutrition Information for Apple Almond Sweet Potato Granola Bars
This approximate nutritional information is based on the recipe as shown. Exact amounts can vary depending on the amounts of each ingredient and substitutions. If you would like to explore the nutritional information of each ingredient, please visit the USDA’s FoodData Central database.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- You can make the butter-cheese mixture ahead of time and refrigerate it in the mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap until you’re ready to use it for homemade breadsticks. Be sure to use it within a day or two.
- While I never expect the garlic cheese bread to last long the day I make it, this can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes until the topping is melty.
- Making this for a crowd? It’s easy to double or triple this recipe as necessary.
Substitutions for Garlic Cheese Bread
You can try plant-based butter as a replacement for dairy butter. The important thing is to get that buttery flavor. Personally, I like to use plant-based butter in stick form for baking.
A baguette cut in half lengthwise and sliced also works well if you don’t have any hot dog buns. Hamburger buns and sandwich rolls will also work.
1/4 + 1/8 (or 3/8) teaspoon garlic powder can replace the minced garlic cloves.
FAQ About This Garlic Cheese Bread
While this garlic cheese bread is super easy to make, we do get questions sometimes! I tried to answer the most commonly asked ones here. If you think of one I haven’t answered yet, feel free to ask in the comments section.
Why is my garlic cheesy bread soggy instead of crispy?
This usually happens when the bread has too much butter spread on it or the rolls are very soft and fresh. Use a thin, even layer of the garlic-butter mixture and bake until the edges are golden. For extra crispiness, place the bread cut-side up on a baking sheet without overcrowding.
Also, remember that mozzarella can vary in moisture content. Basically, the fresher it is, the more moisture it’s likely to contain. The freshest mozzarella has more than 60% moisture content! If the mozzarella is too moist, it can contribute to soggy bread.
Why didn’t my cheese melt evenly?
Uneven melting usually means the cheese was piled too thickly or spread unevenly. Try sprinkling it in a more even layer so every piece gets the same amount. Freshly shredded cheese also tends to melt better than pre-shredded cheese.
Can I experiment with the amounts of cheese?
It’s worth a try! The thing to remember is that the cheese’s moisture content can affect how soggy or crisp the bread turns out. If you use more mozzarella, you may want to choose one with a lower moisture content, for instance. However, I always like the idea of more cheese!
Why is the top browning too fast?
If the cheese or bread is browning before the center is hot, your oven may be running hot, or the pan is too close to the top heating element. Move the pan to the center rack and check it a minute or two earlier next time.
Why does my garlic bread taste too greasy?
Too much butter can make the bread feel heavy instead of flavorful. Measure carefully and spread the mixture lightly rather than thickly. Adding a little more cheese or parsley can also help balance the richness.
Of course, there’s also the option of tossing an extra hot dog roll or two on the baking sheet if it’s just a matter of having mixed up too much of the butter-cheese mix!
I don’t think it was garlicky enough. Why is that?
Hello, fellow garlic lover! I often resolve complaints about the garlic bread not being garlicky enough by adding an extra garlic clove or two or a pinch of garlic powder.
Can I fix garlic cheesy bread that came out too dry?
I’ll typically fix dry bread by melting a little extra butter on top. Of course, that can be tricky if you already baked it with the butter-cheese topping. Dry garlic bread can be prevented by adding a little more butter-cheese mix or baking it for a little less time. Serving it with marinara or cheese sauce can also help disguise the dryness if it’s not terrible.
Can I make this ahead without it getting mushy?
You can make the butter-cheese mix ahead and keep it in the refrigerator for a day or two. I recommend waiting to assemble the garlic cheese bread until you are ready to bake it to keep it from getting too mushy or soggy, though.
How do I reheat leftovers so they stay crispy?
Reheat them in the oven, toaster oven, or air fryer instead of the microwave. The microwave can make it too soft and soggy, while dry heat helps bring back the crisp edges and melty top.
More Italian-Style Dishes to Try
Do you plan to use this cheesy garlic bread as part of “Italian night” for dinner? If so, here are some more recipe ideas to try!
- Olive Garden Copycat Meatballs
- Olive Garden Chicken Marsala
- Creamy Olive Garden Shrimp Alfredo
- Zuppa Toscana Soup with Tortellini
- Easy Instant Pot Marinara Sauce
Did you try this recipe? Do you have any questions or suggestions, or just want to let us know what you think? If so, feel free to leave a comment in the comments section!
